I’ve always wanted to give Pac-Man World a try. I’m a big fan of platformers, and Pac-Man World looked to tick all of the right boxes for me, with everyone’s favourite yellow Smash Bros. character (sorry) front and centre. Pac-Man World: Re-Pac finally presented me with the chance to play this game I’d mythologised in my head, and as I booted it up, I realised something - it was Pac-Man World 2 I wanted to play all those years ago. Oops.

Still, where better to start than with the first game, eh? Thankfully, despite not quite being the Pac-Man World I’d wished for, Re-Pac is still a solid platformer, one that doesn’t do much to change the formula, but plays with it in fun ways and provides a simple, classic experience.

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One of the more instantly noticeable elements of this repac-age (ugh) is its graphical upgrade. It’s not quite N.Sane or Reignited Trilogy levels of improvements, but it’s more noticeable than the recent Klonoa remasters. Both the environments and character models have seen a pretty big upgrade compared to the original, and are full of colour and personality.

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All of the usual genre staples are here - hub worlds with individual levels based on a specific theme, a boss at the end of each world, a mascot character with a few unique moves to set them apart, and tons of collectibles. Pac-Man World has all the expectant bells and whistles, except it’s given a bit of unique flavour and charm thanks to the iconic yellow mascot.

For example, the collectibles you’ll encounter are different types of pellets and fruits from classic Pac-Man, while the ghosts will occasionally pop up in levels as enemies and need to be dealt with by using a Power Pellet before eating them all up. None of it massively impacts gameplay, but it does give World its own identity instead of coming across as a hollow transition to the third dimension.

Not all of them hit quite so well, however. One collectible type for players to grab are maze levels, which recreate classic Pac-Man, but in 3D. That sounds fun on paper, but the execution isn’t quite as solid. Not only are all mazes mostly the same, but they’re slow-paced, interrupt the flow of each level, and don’t really have any purpose. This led to me mostly just avoiding collecting them, unless it wasn’t too far out of my way, which is a bit of a problem when one of the core purposes of a platformer is collecting stuff.

Slot machine tokens you find around the level feel equally as meaningless, which just waste even more time at the end of a level, but at least it results in extra lives, not that you’ll need them considering how short and easy Pac-Man World is.

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Thankfully, the actual platforming in Pac-Man World is a solid experience overall. Pac-Man controls well and has a nice weight to him, which feels at its best when using the butt-bounce to get around, the one move in Pac’s kit that feels wholly unique. Shame that the pellet throw and flutter contribute nothing.

At risk of repeating myself, the platforming is also not perfect, however. Pac-Man World rarely asks the player to do precision platforming but when it does, it can be difficult to gauge where Pac-Man is going to land because of the invisible walls occasionally caging you from jumping too far out and Pac’s tiny shadow, something that games like It’s About Time have made a non-issue by putting a small shadow underneath Crash when he jumps. I also found that one of Pac-Man’s moves, the Rev Roll, could be incredibly fussy on how far forward it would send Pac. Sometimes I’d have to get up right to the edge of a platform to get where I needed to go, and other times it’d send me careening off of a platform to my death.

Surprisingly, the most unique thing that Pac-Man World brings to the table is its boss fights. There are five of them in total and each of them has a completely different mechanic from one another, such as replicating the gameplay of Galaxian for a level, racing a kart around, or having to fight a pirate ship by timing its own attacks against it.

I’d previously heard horror stories about the Anubis Rex fight, in which you have to Rev Roll platforms to be able to deal damage while dodging enemies and fireballs. However, not only was it not as challenging as I thought, but it was actually one of the more fun encounters in the game. None of them are particularly challenging, but a lot of thought was put into making them all feel unique, and they’re definitely one of the highlights of the game.

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Sadly, once you’ve completed Pac-Man World, there’s not really anything to go back for, unless you decide to collect absolutely everything. Re-Pac is only $30, but when compared to other remastered packages like the aforementioned Crash, Spyro, and Klonoa collections, it’s a shame to only see one six-hour game with minimal additions at this price.

Granted, the other games in the Pac-Man World trilogy are very different from one another and would likely take a lot more time and effort than the fairly simple first title, but it’s a shame that Pac-Man’s big return to 3D feels like it comes and goes without much bang for your buck.

Pac-Man World may not be Pac-Man World 2 like I’d hoped, but it’s still a solid classic platformer with enough unique elements to help it stand out. Those who have played the original will no doubt appreciate the nostalgia, but those like me who missed it originally will still have a good time.

Pac-Man World: Re-Pac
Pac-Man World Review Card

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